Safari Day 14 - Etosha Park

Day 14- West  Etosha Park to East Etosha Park

The drive today is not so long, only 70 km, but takes all morning as we make a game drive out of it while we make our way to the East side of the park. 

During this game drive in the bus/truck we visit about 5 waterholes to see some incredible sights. We even come across a mother Lion with 3 cubs lying in the shade about 40 ft. from the road.

Also present, (because predators are a big draw), were about 6 other tour/safari vehicles of varying sizes. A male Lion slowly strode thru the thick bush covered plain in the background which caused some momentary consternation for the female as she perked up until she could determine that he posed no threat to her or her cubs. It was difficult to get a shot and I am feeling rushed as the rapid fire clicks of my friends' Canon cameras is causing me to be concerned that I may not get "The Shot". 

Jackal

This Rhino was quite shy.

While visiting the waterholes we see Elephants, Springbok, Oryx, Steenbok, Giraffes, Zebra, Wildebeest, banana beak birds, a Secretary bird, and some other critters that I cannot recall at this moment. Suffice to say that everyone was pretty pumped by the time we checked in at the Lodge, which is on the east side of Etosha Game Park. We had lunch (grilled ham, cheese and tomato for the 4th day in a row), at the lodge, and checked into our rooms. It is getting quite warm and one of the staff said it was in the low 40,s at noon. 

The rooms were quite a bit larger and more upscale than the previous evening as we had a desk and also a tub and even our own little rock covered yard!. 

We had finished lunch by 1:30 and Mishek was going on a game drive at 3:30 so we could join him or have the afternoon off. Bob elected to rest and relax while I took the 2 hours to have a quick shower, charge some batteries and download some photos before the game drive. 

At 3:30 I rushed out to the bus with my camera bag and lots of enthusiasm. There were only 8 of us going which meant everyone had a window seat. Mike, Tim, Rick, Bill, John, Chris, Frank and myself were taking the game drive. 

This game drive would last until 6:45 and was quite leisurely as we were not rushed and looking for game rather than trying to make as many waterholes as possible.   In some places the bush was very thick and in others it opened up to large Savana like plains with scattered Acatia Trees dotting the landscape. 

While in the thick bush we came across a couple of Warthogs who settled down once they realized we posed no danger. I was using my Loupe Viewfinder and along with taking my time, was getting some very nice results. 

On this outing we saw Ostrich, Oryx, Wildebeest, and the usual assortment of deer-like animals. We also saw a gorgeous Rhino and even came across a Cheetah by a waterhole. It was quite  a distance away and had its' back to us most of the time. We stayed there about 1/2 hr watching to see if this Impala would get the courage to come down to the waterhole to shake his thirst. Finally, the Impala decided he wasn't that thirsty so we moved on also. 

Supper was quite a nice buffet and everyone called it an early night as we had to have eaten and be on the road by 7 as we wanted to do a bit of a game drive in the morning before we did our drive. It was supposed to be a long drive tomorrow with 660 km of mostly paved road ahead of us. (Yay)

I downloaded my photos and got most of my charging done overnight as the excitement was tiring me out quite a bit.    

On a very happy note, slowing down, and using the loupe viewfinder has resulted in some very acceptable photos!